Original Top Gun star sues Paramount over Maverick’s use of his likeness without permission

Summary

• Barry Tubb sues Paramount for unauthorized use of his image in
  Top Gun: Maverick
  seeking compensatory damages and a jury trial.
• Top Gun: Maverick
  He faced a copyright infringement lawsuit early on, with accusations of copying elements from a 1983.
  California Magazine
  article.
• Paramount’s plans for
  Top Gun 3
  may be affected by legal battles, but the success of
  Dissident
  suggests that fallout is likely to follow.

Barry Tubb, the actor who played Leonard “Wolfman” Wolfe in the original top gun, is suing Paramount for using his image in 2022 Top Gun: Maverick. Serving as the belated sequel to the hit 1986 action film, Top Gun: Maverick saw Tom Cruise return to the role of Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell alongside a younger generation of aviators, including the son of his late friend and wingman Nick “Goose” Bradshaw. Set decades after the events of the first film, the sequel also featured the return of Val Kilmer as Maverick’s old rival Tom “Iceman” Kazansky.

According to a new report from Entertainment Weekly,Tubb has taken legal action against Paramount for the decision to include his image in a Top Gun: Maverick scene, which includes a photograph representing his original character along with Maverick, Goose and Iceman. According to the complaint, Paramount did not ask permission to use his image in the sequel, and the actor maintains that the image was an altered version of an original behind-the-scenes shot that “destroyed any supposed copyright.” Paramount has not yet responded to the matter. Meanwhile, Tubbs is seeking damages and a jury trial.

This latest complaint is not Top Gun: Maverick’s first legal drama

Tom Cruise’s sequel found itself in trouble

While this latest development potentially overshadows the monumental success of the long-awaited 2022 Top gun continuation, This is not the first time the film has found itself at the center of a legal furor.. Just weeks after the film was first released in theaters, the family of the author responsible for writing the 1983 film California Magazine The article that inspired the first film accused Paramount of copyright infringement and even sought an injunction against distribution of the sequel.

The key to this previous lawsuit, which alleges that Top Gun: Maverick copied key parts of Ehud Yonay’s “Top Guns” article, is a scene in which Cruise’s Maverick is forced to buy everyone at the Navy base bar a round of drinks by placing his cell phone on the counter. However, Top Gun: Maverick Director Joseph Kosinski would later respond to this claim, stating that the scene in question was written after his own experience visiting a bar on base and demanding that he buy everyone a round.

Whether any of these lawsuits will have any significant impact on Paramount’s recently announced plans for Top Gun 3 remains to be seen, but given Top Gun: MaverickWith the impressive box office gross of $1.46 billion, it would take a lot to dissuade them from trying to follow up with another sequel. However, Paramount will probably be very hesitant to include future references to Tubb’s Werewolf.

Both
Top gun
The films are available to stream on Paramount+.

Could any original Top Gun stars return to the franchise?

More familiar faces may be unlikely to return

Yeah Top Gun 3 ends up moving forward, it’s still unclear who will return from either Top Gun: Maverick cast or the original film by Tony Scott. Paramount will obviously be interested in Cruise reprising his role as Maverick, and it’s possible that other new stars like Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Monica Barbaro and Lewis Pullman could also return. Although Some members of the franchise’s new blood seem to be prime candidates to return in a sequel.the original stars (see box below) of the 1986 film do not.

Kilmer, for example, returns as Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick, but the film also features his character’s death in a particularly emotional sequence. Considering he just filed a lawsuit against Paramount, it’s almost certain that Tubb is now off the table to reprise his role as Wolfman as well. Original star Kelly McGillis did not return as Charlie in Top Gun: Mavericknor Meg Ryan reprized her role as Goose’s wife, Carole (the latter character is revealed to have died in the film).

McGillis said he was not asked to return.
Top Gun: Maverick
In a 2019 interview with

Entertainment tonight
,
saying: ”
I’m old, I’m fat, and I look age-appropriate. And that’s not what that whole scene is about.
“

Regarding the exclusion of so many characters from the original film, Kosinski said Well-informed person in 2022: “I didn’t want every story to always look back.“With Cruise now in his 60s and a future Top Gun 3 there are still several years left, it is The next film is likely to be even more future-oriented.especially from Dissident introduced the franchise to a whole new generation. It remains to be seen how the franchise progresses next. Top Gun: Maverickbut, at the very least, the public shouldn’t expect Tubb to return.

Fountain: Entertainment Weekly